Chiller Part Ten: Remember Me to the One Who Lives There
by Gillen1962
Summary: Carly is in the Bronx. And it is hard to tell who is in more trouble, the Bronx or Carly. Sonny goes to Kelly's for the first time in months and confronts Rovena and Elizabeth. Monica finds comfort with an old friend. And the Ice Princess formula is in the hands of Hajar and Soumia


_Chiller Part Ten: Remember Me to the One Who Lives There_

On any given day the conversation that Lucky Spencer had just had with Dr. Monica Quartermaine and her nephew Ned would have been enough to occupy him for the remainder of the week, their claim that Ambassador from Malkooth Alexandria Quartermaine's adopted daughter Fatima was in reality a back from the dead, Sage Alcazar, was explosive to say the least. But today was not just any day and the text message that Lucky had just gotten from his bride to be Dr. Soumia Al-Fayheed, that she and her team had possession of the Ice Princess formula was earth shattering.

Still as he started his car, to head home he realized that his mind was still concerned about Monica. He had known the woman since he was a child, and there was no way to deny how much she had lost over the years, enough to break anyone. And Monica sounded very much on edge. He owed it to her daughter his late friend Emily to do something.

He clicked the phone button on his dash and pressed a speed dial number. As he drove It rang four times. She never picked up before the fourth ring. Finally, on ring six, he heard the familiar voice say. "Hello, Hello"

"Hi, Grandma, it's Lucky. I have a favor to ask you."

"Whatever you need sweetheart." Dr. Leslie Webber answered.

The morning crowd at Kelly's diner had drifted off, the lunch rush was over, and the mid-afternoon lull was in full swing. Elizabeth Baldwin sat at one of the outdoor tables sipping a coke and keeping a watchful eye on her boys who were on the pier across the street playing frisbee with their Uncle Tom Hardy.

It had been very obvious to Elizabeth that her Uncle wanted to talk to her about his meeting earlier with the woman whose name he had said was Carol, but it was equally obvious that he wanted some time to process. So, the impromptu frisbee match with Jake and Aidan seemed like a good idea.

Her husband Franco Baldwin had left with Jordan Ashford and Harrison Chase to review a file at the PCPD. Elizabeth was not pleased with this, but she also understood that Franco had talents which the police on occasion needed. She just did not think they took enough care of him and were unaware of the dark places that those talents made him go in his own mind.

Her Oldest son Cameron had wandered off with Lucky and Soumia's ward Nisida as soon as the girl got her lunch break from her waitress job at the diner. Elizabeth liked Nisida very much, but the mother at the base of her skull was a little leery of the girl's far greater sexual experience then her little boy

Who was nearly seventeen she smiled to herself, not so little any more?

She sighed. Cameron had grown up so fast. She thought wistfully of Zander, his father and hoped that he was looking down and was proud of the job she had done raising Cam in his absence.

Rovena Krasniqi the manager of the diner came out carrying another coke and a glass of iced tea. She put the coke down in front of Elizabeth and said. "Can I sit?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Sure. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you had a minute to talk?"

"About?"

"Jason."

Elizabeth chuckled. "That will take more than a minute sweetie."

It had taken Carly Corinthos less than twenty minutes to determine that she did not like the Bronx. She had been to New York dozens of times; she and Sonny would come down two or three times a year to see Broadway shows and stay in one of the nicer hotels on fifth avenue. But she had not been to the Bronx since Morgan had been a small boy and had insisted on seeing a Yankee Game, but that had been in and out. Now as she stepped out of her cab on Bedford Park Blvd, she wrinkled her nose and felt her stomach flip.

"Ya sure dis is where yaw anna be lady?" Her cab driver said as she got out.

"Yes, thanks"

He shrugged and drove off. She looked at the diner in front of her. This was the place that Sam had mentioned she had seen Rovena, even before she knew that Rovena had stolen Jason from her. Well Sam had not put it that way but that mattered little to Carly. She took out her phone and opened the picture of Rovena and went in.

The Bedford Park Diner was small and narrow, but clean and well kept. Carly sat at the counter. A friendly looking man came over and said to her. "How are you?'

"Good" She said smiling. "Can I get a cup of coughee" She said trying the New York Accent that she had practiced in her head on the way down.

The man smiled and said sure. He handed her a menu. "In case you want anything else". He grabbed a cup from underneath the counter and poured her a cup.

He put cream and sugar in front of her and turned to help another customer.

Carly sipped her coffee, which was awful and planned her next move. The counter man came back over and said. "So, a bagel? Danish? Lunch?" He said smiling.

"A bagel with a smear" She said.

"What kind? I got plain, cinnamon, everything, onion?"

"Plain, toasted."

The man nodded. And Carly said. "And maybe you can gimmie a hand?" The man looked at her and shook his head, he had rarely heard such a bad imitation of a New York accent.

"Sure."

"That's Bedford Park Blvd out there?" She said pointing. "I'm from Queens, I never get up to the Bronx."

And then the man knew for sure that Carly was lying, People from Queens, never say they are from Queens they say the name of the neighborhood in Queens they are from: Folks are from Astoria, or Long Island City, Rockaway or Flushing, they are never from Queens.

"Yep that's Bedford" He said.

"So, the Grand Concourse is up the block north?"

"Just up the hill."

"My friend lives up there, I am trying to surprise her, we went to school together a ways back" Carly said smiling. "I know this is where she is from, but I am not sure of the address."

The man nodded and thought to himself, and this is where you show me a picture and ask if I have ever seen her before.

Carly took out her phone and showed the man a picture of Rovena. "Does she look familiar?"

The man scoffed. "No sorry. Let me get you your bagel."

He popped the bagel into the toaster and then stepped into the back

He took his phone and took a picture of the picture of Carly in the security cam and then sent it with a text message. "This mook is here asking about you"

Rovena sat down across from Elizabeth who said. "So, what about Jason?"

Rovena took a sip of her iced tea and said. "There are parts of him I cannot figure out."

"Is that unusual with any man? Let alone one like Jason." Elizabeth countered.

"Maybe, but mystery with Jason could lead to danger for him."

"And you would prevent that?"

"Yes, without compromising who he is."

"Ha" Said Elizabeth. "If you figure a way to do that, then you are better than I ever was,"

"You and Jason interest me."

"Yeah we have a lot of fans." Elizabeth said laughing. "People like our liaison"

Rovena cocked her head and Elizabeth patted her hand. "Sorry bad joke. Why do we interest you?"

"You are not his typical girl. You are not a Sonny cast off or apologist"

"Ahh, well in fairness there was a time I liked Sonny and for the most part I have been pretty neutral on him. I never liked the danger that he placed Jason in and ultimately that was our downfall."

"Was it?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "A lot of it, and maybe we just always had bad timing. You know that one guy who you come so close to making it work with but something always seems to get in the way and some where along the line you both drift into the friend zone, but there is always a little fire?"

Rovena nodded. "Nardi Ormandihi. Works at the Bedford Diner, we flirt all the time, we've drifted in and out of each other's lives, but we work best as friends."

"Exactly. Jason and I co-parent, and by the way, you are wonderful with Jake," Rovena nodded her thanks as Elizabeth went on "And Jason and I are friends, good good friends and we always will be."

"But you are not Sonny's friend?"

"No." Elizabeth said softly.

"Can some one be Jason's friend without being Sonny's?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "It is not easy. There are some people who have managed to do it for years. Jax certainly respects Jason but holds Sonny in contempt. Ned loves his cousin but cannot stand Sonny. "

"But Ned and Jax are no different than Jason, they keep taking Sonny's cast offs." Rovena said.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and realized that this young woman was looking at Port Charles from a helicopter, as a newcomer she could look down and see things that many of them had missed.

"I am not sure that Sam, Carly and Alexis and Olivia see themselves as Sonny's cast offs" She said a bit defensively.

Rovena shrugged. "How they see themselves is their business. I have not really interacted with Olivia. I don't like Alexis or Carly and won't pretend I do. And Sam, well she just seems broken."

Elizabeth nodded. That was surely one way to describe Sam. "I'm not a Sam fan, so I'll stay quite."

Rovena nodded. "You are not a Sonny cast off, is that why Jason and you did not work out? Because you would not be a Sonny apologist?"

"I would not condone the violence that swirled around Sonny the way Sam has, no. I did make excuses for him though like everyone else in town for years and years."

"But no longer." Rovena said to her. "The Karen thing?"

"In part. Yes. But" Elizabeth stopped. "You just got to town, so it is hard for you to understand, but we all knew about the Karen thing for years and we all just ignored it or excused it or conveniently forgot we knew. It was not till one of the children we had all watched grow up in a Post-Karen world put the facts under our nose that we all retroactively were disgusted."

Rovena nodded. And waited.

"But truthfully, I would have likely just gone back to being neutral on Sonny. It is not like our world's cross all that much anymore. It would have been one more horrible thing that Sonny did that I simply turned a blind eye too because Jason is his friend and I am, as I said always Jason's friend."

"But something changed that?"

"He pulled a gun on my child. In his effort to kill Nisida he pulled a gun on Cameron. I am never going to forget that. I am never going to forgive that."

Rovena began to answer when her phone which she had placed on the table buzzed. She looked at it quickly and then said. "What the hell is wrong with that woman?"

"Who" said Elizabeth

Rovena turned the phone to her and said. "Carly, in the Bronx asking about me."

"Do you think this is a good idea Sonny?" The ghost of his late wife Lilly said to him as he walked down the Port Charles pier. "You have not even begun to work on your redemption."

"Of course, I have" He answered out loud, prompting a woman who was walking past him to look around to see who he was speaking to. Sonny noted to himself to keep his words to himself.

Lilly took his hand in her ghostly ones. "No Sonny you have not, you killed that man."

"He deserved it. We needed that contract."

Karen Wexler appeared on the other side of Sonny. "Please Lilly he will never change. Look what he is doing with those women."

"Those women are well paid, all of age, and all applied to be cam girls on my web site." Sonny snapped in his mind.

"In exchange for a visa and what amounts to indentured servitude till they pay you back for the visa, which will still expire and leave them here illegally with very little job options but yours."

"I am helping them come to the USA,"

"So now you are a patriot? Yeah, a patriot running an illegal construction company, a sketchy dating site and a series of porn hubs."

"Shut up Karen."

Lilly sighed. "Sonny why does Sly want to meet you at Kelly's?"

Sonny shrugged. "He is a nervous nelly he thinks we are meeting in private too much and so wants a meeting in public. He is just paranoid, technically he has barely done anything illegal and all of it to further the mayor's agendas"

Lilly was concerned. "But you have not been back to Kelly's in months."

"Its time I went then" Sonny answered. "People better get use to the idea that I am coming back."

"And if they don't?" asked Karen. "what are you going to do about it Sonny?"

He ignored her and kept walking.

At the Jerome Gallery Ava Jerome adjusted a very nice still life from one of the Veterans. She was very happy with how this project was going.

She sold fewer large pieces from well known artist but the smaller valued pieces from the Veterans working with Franco in hi studio upstairs flew off the walls. Once the gym opened on the top floor next month Ava expected the foot traffic to double and sales to take off from there.

She moved to another section of the gallery and looked at the recently hung pencil sketches that Franco had done. They were of Edward Quartermaine and were part of the large portraits of he and Lila that Franco was doing for Monica. She had agreed to let the sketches to be hung here as Franco worked on the finished project.

Ava heard the bell on the door ring and turned to see her guest. "Hello" she said to a man she thought she had seen on television. He was accompanied by two other men who hung by the door, not so much bodyguards Ava thought but aides.

The man walked over to her and smiled. "Hello" He stopped. "Ohm these are what I wanted to see. I heard they were here. "

"The Franco Sketches?" Ava said.

"Yes, of Edward Quartermaine. Are they for sale?"

"Not at the moment, I could make an inquiry though" Ava answered.

"Oh, would you? But I would like to keep my interest anonymous."

Ava nodded. "Certainly, though I do have to ask, who are you and why are you interested, they are just sketches?"

The man smiled. "I'm Charlie Holt and Edward Quartermaine was my grandfather."

"Ahh Assemblyman, nice to meet you." Ava said extending her hand

"You have heard of me? Wonderful. And I can count on your vote?"

Before Ava could answer a voice thick with Australia stepped from the back room two cups of coffee in his hand, he handed one to Ava and said. "Well I should hope not, how are you doing Assemblyman?" Said Robert.

Holt put out his hand. "Mister District Attorney, you and your brother were my next stop. My people are putting in a permit request for a rally today."

"Oh. Was there a sale on hoods?"

Holt ignored Robert and said. "We want to use Pier 23, near the cannery, you know many of my supporters are Veterans."

"When is this shindig to take place Holt?"

"Next Friday. It has been approved by the Mayor's Office, I just need a signature from either you or the commissioner."

Holt motioned to one of his aides who came over. "Care to save me a trip?"

Robert took the paperwork and read it over. There was no part of him that wanted to sign off. But there was nothing illegal in the idea of a gubernatorial candidate holding a rally for their supporters. He took a pen from his pocket and signed. His face showing his distaste

"Thanks Robert" Holt said. Then he turned to Ava. "So, you will contact the family and get me a price, they will look great in my office at the Governor's Mansion."

He smiled and left.

"Monica will sell him those sketches over her dead body and if Franco thinks otherwise, she will kill him as well" Robert said smiling.

"He does have an air of slime" Ava said laughing.

Robert nodded but turned serious. "Yes, and a whole Pier full of his supporters means nothing but trouble."

The only group that Lucky Spencer could imagine odder than the people sitting in his kitchen drinking tea with pine nuts in the Tunisian fashion would have been his Father drinking hot coco with Stavros Cassadine while Stefan made cupcakes.

Around the circular kitchen table sat Scott Baldwin's long lost sister Brooke Bentley, Jennifer Hutchinson, who appeared at least for the moment to have her correct memories, Liesel Obrecht, who seemed to be reciting the recipe for Snickerdoodles, in German to Lucky's Step Father Kevin Collins.

Annie Donnelly was leaning against the refrigerator looking like she had just seen her father moon a school bus full of nuns.

"Hey Moose, Squirrel is in the lab with Paris Hilton." She said as he entered the room.

"Good. And you are entertaining the Golden Girls and Frasier?"

"Frasier, I like that Aunt Anna did not like what I was calling him."

Kevin picked his head up from his conversation with Dr. O and said. "And what was that?"

"Dr. Jeckel"

Kevin chuckled. "Frasier is better, though there is some horrid truth in the other." He turned to Lucky. "Anna is downstairs, and Annie was not sure if it would violate clearance but I'd like to call your Mom."

Lucky nodded. "Yes, that is fine. Let's not tell her too much on the phone though, just that Miss Hutchinson seems better."

Kevin nodded and excused himself as he took out his phone and walked into the other room.

"I would like to leave" Said Dr. O.

"I am sure you would" responded Lucky, then turned to Jennifer. "And are you feeling better Miss Hutchinson?"

"Very, Dr. Collins says I will need several more sessions with he and Dr. Al-Fayheed but yes I am clear headed for the first time in weeks."

"Good." Lucky thought for a minute. "if you call your Uncle Hutch, can you keep the conversation to the fact that you are safe and feeling better?"

"Yessir."

"Go ahead then, I know he is not well, this may make him feel better." He turned to Brooke and said. "And please go call Scotty before he shows up at my door anyway."

Bentley smiled.

"May I at least call my niece and inform her that I am well?" Dr. O asked.

Lucky hesitated, he had no qualms about Nina, but she was married to Valentin Cassadine and while Lucky had worked with Valentin and respected his skills, he had no desire for any one named Cassadine, even if it had been his own brother or nephew, to know that his fiancé and her oldest friend were in his basement recreating the Ice Princess formula.

"Annie go with her, if she says anything other than: I am well: I am assisting Soumia in her memory work: I will be home soon, rip the phone from her hand and shove it in her ear."

"OH, sounds like fun" Annie said. "Come on Maleficent"

Obrecht looked complimented as she accompanied Annie out of the kitchen.

Lucky could hear the rapid-fire Arabic as soon as he opened the door to walk down to the basement. He could read Arabic and speak a little of the language, but Soumia and Hajar were speaking quickly in the Tunisian Arabic Dialect of their youth and he was as lost by the time he got to the bottom of the stairs as Anna Devane who sat in an office chair aimlessly spinning around, seemed to have been for several hours.

The two scientists barely registered his arrival. He put his hand out and stopped Anna's spinning chair. "Have they been doing this long?"

"Hours, they seem to have gotten stuck on something right at the beginning of the formula, near as I can tell, Soumia just wants to go past it look at the rest of the formula and come back to it but Hajar has dug her heels in."

Lucky nodded and said, "I have something else nearly as big as this to speak to you and Soumia about."

Anna cocked her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yep. But let's get their attention first and see if we can learn what's up." Then turned and said loudly "Syadati, hal turidin 'ana tukhbirani bima yajri? "

Soumia and Hajar both looked at him. Soumia walked over and kissed him. "I am so sorry Love; we were lost in work."

"Which we may as well stop." Hajar said.

"Excuse me?" Lucky responded.

"It's pointless the Ice Princess Formula cannot be recreated." She said

Nardi read the return Text from Rovena and smiled. She had simply typed back "Send her on a scavenger hunt."

He put the bagel down in front of Carly and said. "You know, can I look at the picture again?"

Carly held her phone up hopefully showing him again the picture of Rovena.

"Hmm "Nardi said. "See she's dressed regular there. It is hard to recognize her."

"Meaning?"

"I don't know if she lives in this neighborhood or not, but I've am pretty sure I have seen her in over in your boro, near Astoria."

Carly had no idea what an Astoria was she would need to look on Google Maps. She smiled and said. "Does she live there?"

"I have no idea. She goes by Rovi, I think, I saw her belly dancing at a club over there."

Carly liked this; she was onto something she knew. "Belly dancing?"

"Yeah you know." Nardi said and undulated his stomach muscles.

Carly laughed. "Yeah" She said going back to her cover. "That sounds like my friend she was wilder in college."

"Sure, she was" Nardi, who had attended Lehman College just down the block with the then bookish Rovena said laughing to himself.

"Do you remember the name of the club?"

"Mezo Mezo, it's on Steinway and 48th right at the end of the N train."

"Great." Carly said getting up

"Don't you want yer bagel" Nardi said smiling.

Carly took a large bite and waved as she left the diner.

Nardi took his phone out, when the person answered he said in Albanian "Hi cousin, I just sent some tall MILF over there she claims she is looking for Rovena, but Rovi said to send her on a wheel. Yeah, I told her Rovena was a belly dancer there. Good, yeah I like that "

He hung up and texted Rovena back.

The third time the doorbell rang Monica finally got up from the couch, put her book down and went to answer it. Alice, she assumed was at market, and Cook would never answer the door.

She swung the big wooden door open and saw Leslie Webber on the other side. "Hi, I was in the neighborhood."

"Selling broomsticks" Monica replied.

"Why did yours get stuck up your…."

Monica cut her off. "Come on in Leslie" She said with a smile.

Monica led her to the Q living room and poured her a cup of coffee, from a carafe.

They sat silently for a moment. "So," Monica said. "I assume Lucky sent you?"

"Yes, he was worried about you."

"I'm worried about me." Monica shook her head. "You and I, we became doctors when it was far from a calling for women. We dedicated our lives to the medical profession."

"Yes" Leslie said slowly. "I'll only say this because we're old and I can deny remembering it, but you were the best cardiac surgeon I ever saw."

Monica smiled. "Thank you. Leslie, where in medical school did it prepare us for people coming back from the dead? Not just dying on the table and being revived, but time and time again over decades? How do we deal with that, as doctors, as women?"

"Lucky said that Sage Alcazar was back."

"Back? Is that what we are calling it now? Back?"

Leslie sighed. "I know, there is no word for it, no way to understand it."

Monica nodded. "Dawn has been dead since June of 1989. That's thirty years Leslie, and now every time the doorbell rings, I wonder if it is her. Or Emily, or AJ or Alan or any one I lost over all these years."

"I didn't realize you and Sage were close" Leslie said

Monica looked off over Leslie's shoulder at the photos on the fireplace mantel. "We weren't. Truth I barely paid attention to her existence when she was alive…"

Monica burst out laughing. "When she was alive the first time…see how insane that sounds…I never paid attention to her. But, Leslie, if she is back, then, how do I know?'

Leslie nodded. "I understand."

"Do you?" Monica said. "Yes, I guess you do, Lucky and Laura were reported dead right?"

"And Nicholas, whose still dead, they tell me."

"But you don't believe it, none of us believe it anymore. From faked deaths like yours and AJ to back from the dead like Jerry Jacks, who comes back what Weekly. How do we know any one is gone?"

Leslie smiled softly. "We feel it in our hearts. Reach deep inside Monica, do you feel that Dawn is gone? Or Alan? Or anyone?"

Monica began to sob. "Alan's gone. I know it in my soul. He is with Edward and Lila and…. Dawn." She rested her head on Leslie shoulder as Leslie patted her. "But God Help me Leslie, after this, after Sage, I just do not know about Emily and AJ. I just don't know."

Sam McCall was not sure she would ever get use to working for her Aunt Ava or her Aunt's relationship with District Attorney Robert Scorpio but as she entered the Jerome Gallery at the Logan Hayes Center she could not help but smile as her Aunt stood in front of some sketches of Edward Quartermaine with Robert hugging her from behind and whispering something in her ear.

"Excuse me" She said softly.

Ava extracted herself from Robert and smiled. "Sam, how are you?"

"I'm good." Sam smiling "And clearly you two are as well."

Ava smiled. "So here to learn more about Happy Valley."

Robert took a step back "Happy valley why on earth would you want to know about that place?"

"You know about Happy Valley?" Ava asked him.

He looked far away. "Err, I heard of it a long while ago, it's supposed to be haunted isn't it?"

"Yes" Ava eyed him suspiciously. "It is."

Carly arrived at Mezo Mezo thanked the Uber driver and headed inside. The club manager picked up his head and smiled. He recognized her from the phone pic that Nardi sent over. "Can I help you miss?" He said. "We are not open for an hour"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine who may have worked here." Carly said looking around, this place was far more respectable than she had expected.

Like most Americans Carly had in her mind confused Belly Dancing with Stripping. They were not anywhere near the same.

"Nah she was over at our other location in Patterson over in Jersey. "He took a business card from his pocket and wrote an address on the back. "Here you go"

"Thanks" Carly said and opened her Uber App.

Sonny got the text from Sly that he was running late when he was less than half a block from Kelly's. He shrugged and moved on ahead, the ghost at his shoulders had grown. Everyone from his past was there, likely because they all knew and had connection with this place: Karen, Lilly, Emily, Claudia and Stone all walked with him.

Elizabeth saw him approaching first. She moved her head up and Rovena followed where her eyes went.

Sonny Corinthos put on his big dimpled smile, that had always served his purposes and said. "Hello Elizabeth."

Elizabeth sighed. "Sonny."

He looked at the other woman and held out his hand. "You are Rovena right, it is about time we met. I'm Sonny."

Rovena did not accept his handshake. "I am aware of who you are."

Sonny kept smiling though he was annoyed. "I hear that the Baklava here is excellent. You think I could get a piece?"

Rovena got up and headed inside Kelly's "Coffee?"

"Yes please"

Sonny kept standing at Elizabeth's table. "Nice and warm for November "He said.

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes."

Sonny took the yes as an invitation to sit. "So how are the boys?"

Don't. You. Dare." Said Elizabeth coldly.

Sonny felt hurt. In the corner of his eye he saw Lilly turn her head away and Karen scoff. "I am sorry? What did I do that you are so angry Elizabeth?'

"What did you do?" Elizabeth was amazed at the gall. "Sonny the last time I saw you, you were holding a gun on my Son."

"I had no beef with Cameron, Elizabeth."

"Oh, and the fact that who you wanted to shoot was a poor innocent girl makes all the difference?'

"That girl is hardly innocent Elizabeth. She got; Kristina attacked."

"No, Sonny, Kristina got attacked by a group of thugs."

Sonny slipped his hand and ignored what Elizabeth had said. "I understand she is living with Lucky now and I trust him to keep her in line."

"You trust Lucky, and if not, you would just shoot Nisida anyway."

"That is not what I said' Snapped Sonny

Elizabeth just shook her head. Rovena returned with the Baklava and coffee. She placed it in front of Sonny who took a bite. "Oh, this is good. I am glad that Jason got himself a girl who can cook."

"My Father made it" Rovena said standing at Elizabeth's shoulder.

"It's still good. Jason picked a winner."

Rovena shook her head.

Sonny ate and drank his coffee for a moment then said. "Well I am glad he brought you here to Port Charles."

'Not like he had a choice" Rovena said.

"Yeah you kind of burned your bridges back in New York."

"I burned my Bridges?" Rovena said. "I did?"

"Well you know" He said side eyeing Elizabeth,

"You mean the fact that Rovena joined a long list of people kidnapped by some enemy of yours. I am thinking of starting a club, me, Rovi, Sam, your kids." Elizabeth said.

"That is unfair Elizabeth, Shehu came after Jason and me, he killed Milo"

"He came after you because you were in the mob, Sonny" Rovena said. "Otherwise, this whole city, your friend Milo and my father and I would have never encountered him."

"It is not my fault that Jason ended up on your doorstep honey."

"Do not call me honey. And no, that was Jason choosing to come down to New York to clean up another mess of yours and lying to me."

"He did not mean you any harm" Sonny said.

Rovena laughed. "No, he didn't and that is the only reason I am with him. But the fact that he would lie for you is a serious character flaw."

Sonny laughed. "I think most folks, even Elizabeth, would tell you that Jason has very few flaws."

"Oh no" Said Elizabeth. "Do not drag me into this Jason has a ton of flaws, it doesn't mean he is not my friend, it doesn't mean he is not a good father, but he is hardly a saint. Do you think I or my eldest son is ever going to forget that he framed Zander for murder? Jason has a ton of flaws most of them connected to you."

Sonny leaned forward and put on his understanding face. "Elizabeth, I know that you are upset about the little incident with Cameron but please understand I was in the middle of a bipolar episode, I was not myself."

Elizabeth smiled and said. "Bullshit."

"Elizabeth? "Said Sonny. "I was sick"

"Yeah, this whole town has always given you a pass because of that, 'oh Sonny has bipolar, oh Sonny has claustrophobia' Here is the deal Sonny, Mental illness is an Explanation not an Excuse. And I and most of the people around you are sick and tired of you using it as an excuse."

Sonny fumed he stood up. "I am not going to let you speak to me like that."

"Let me?" Elizabeth said cocking an eyebrow. "You do not let me do anything Sonny. And I will speak any way I want."

Sonny took his coffee and said. "We can talk when you come to your senses. I'm going inside."

Rovena shook her head. "No, you are not. My waitress will be back from her lunch soon, and you terrorized that poor girl enough. Drink your coffee and go. You are not welcome here."

"Jason will say otherwise" Sonny snapped.

"I do not care what he says. This is my restaurant. And I reserve the right to serve whoever I want. I am being nice. You are welcome to use the outdoor tables anytime, we will happily serve you, but I am not going to have Nisida feel cornered by you by having you come inside."

Sonny took a deep breath he began to say something when Lilly whispered in his ear. "Sonny for me, just go to another table."

He nodded at Rovena "Fine" and moved to another table.

He sat and waited for Sly. Keeping his eyes on Rovena and Elizabeth the whole time.

Anna looked at the two scientist and said. "Explain quickly and in simple English."

Hajar looked at Soumia who nodded at her. "There are a lot of component parts to the ice princess formula, chemicals, and extracts, thigs that are used to seed the laser without disrupting the flow of light as it moves from the power source to the satellite and then back to wherever it is that the laser is redirected."

Soumia spoke softly. "The scientist that Mikkos used to create this were amazing, it is the perfect marriage of chemistry, physics, and meteorology. Each part, each portion perfectly tied together. With just a quick overview I now understand why Alexandria was so desperate to get those nuclear plants in Malkooth, there are only two locations on Earth that this would work from, one is Cassadine Island and the other is Platform One of Reactor One in Malkooth."

"So, we cannot recreate this because we do not have access to the reactor?" Lucky asked.

Hajar waved her hand. "No, I have confidence that we could get that in time."

"So then?" Anna said.

"The problem is in the chemical formula. There is an extract from a plant called the Franklin Tree that is needed" Hajar said. She took out her iPad and read "Named after Benjamin Franklin, the Franklin Tree was once only found in Georgia and only along the Altamaha River. It was discovered by John Bartram in 1765. This unique tree grows 20 feet tall and produces fragrant, white flowers from Summer until late fall when its leaves turn red, orange and pink.

When John Bartram returned to the area again in the 1770s, he found just a few specimens remained on a small piece of land along the river. By 1803, the tree had disappeared from the landscape. Nobody is sure why the tree disappeared. Some believe that pathogens from the cotton plantations was carried along the river and into the soil, killing the trees.

Thankfully, Bartram saved some seeds and took them to Philadelphia where he was able to grow several of the trees there. The tree has been successfully grown in the eastern United States and all are from the seeds Bartram had the foresight to save. Recently, a few Franklin Trees were again planted in their native soil along the Altamaha River, where they will hopefully take root and grow again."

"Okay" said Lucky. "Then we are fine, we just use these new plants."

"Not that easy" Said Soumia. "I think we may be able to use them, which is why we are arguing."

"And you are not a chemist" snapped Hajar. "The formula is very clear, the species of the Franklin Tree found in Georgia and saved by John Bartram is not the species used, the ice princess formula calls for an extract from a sub-species that produces yellow flowers not white."

"And there are none of them?" Anna said.

"On a fast look on the internet, there was some evidence of the sub species existing until 1989 here in upstate New York"

"Okay then" Anna said.

"They were wiped out by Climate Change. Near as I can tell they don't exist."

Lucky laughed. "So, the formula to freeze the planet has been destroyed by Global Warming?"


End file.
